Perceptions of the Other and Ethnographical Writing in Early Modern Portugal

Focuses on the privileged situation of Portugal as far as the knowledge of extra-European cultures in early modern Europe is concerned. The course examines agents, instruments and mechanisms of information gathering and diffusion of the "outer world" in Europe via Lisbon. The most important topoi of these Portuguese ethnographical representations will be discussed through a close analysis of a wide range of contemporary texts and visual records. Conducted in English.